What trains are used?

I'll be down in New York City in July to ride the rails during a long layover between Amtrak trains. I wanted to know what kind of cars can I expect on the following routes late at night:

• N

• R

• D

• Q

• J

• L

Thank you in advance, every little bit helps.

N- R32 and R68

R- R46 and R68

D- R46 and R68

Q- R32 and R68

J- R40 and R42

L- R143

M- R143 and R40 and R42

Thank you Matt the response Looks like I will become acquainted quite well with the R68s during my trip.

Any idea when the lines start or stop using the older equiptment, in particular the R32s, R38s, R40s, and R42s? I was told that the "new" equiptment is going to be used most likely for the overnight runs, but is there a set time when the older cars will stop running in favor of the newer ones?

Also, the D and R lines are all basically underground, and they use full-width cab cars and I think that's appropiate, since the all-underground routes are not worth viewing out front either

But the other lines that have full width cabs are all open-air, particularly the L route, those used to run R42s and Slant R40s, but those have since been transferred to other lines. So, you'll have to see though a fuzzy window, like I did from the R46 and R68A on the W and F, and the R44 on the A and Rockaway Park Shuttle, although I did a succesful test video from those car cab access door windows.

matt1168 wrote:N- R32 and R68

R- R46 and R68

D- R46 and R68

Q- R32 and R68

J- R40 and R42

L- R143

M- R143 and R40 and R42

Wow, thats a new one on me -- I've never seen R-68s on the R, or R-46s on the D. Is that new or a late night thing only?

JayMan wrote:

matt1168 wrote:N- R32 and R68

R- R46 and R68

D- R46 and R68

Q- R32 and R68

J- R40 and R42

L- R143

M- R143 and R40 and R42

Wow, thats a new one on me -- I've never seen R-68s on the R, or R-46s on the D. Is that new or a late night thing only?

I'll have to double check about those R46's on the D, you may have gotten me there... but I have seen (at least one) train of R68's on the R... it could just be one of those rare sets, though (like for example-- there is one train of R46's on the E, but it is rare to see it)

As I understand, it works something like this:

A: R-44, R-38, R-32
B: R-40
C: R-38, R-32
D: R-68, and one R-40M
E: R-32, and one or more R-46
F: R-46, R-32
G: R-46
J/Z: R-42, R-40M
L: R-143
M: R-40M, R-42, R-143
N: R-68a, R-40, R-32
Q: R-68a, R-32
R: R-46
V: R-32, R-46
W: R-40, R-68, R-32

Hey Rob: you don't like riding up front inside the tunnels!!?? That's a surprise! It may not be as scenic as outdoors, but viewing the signals, especially watching them changing in the distance is great underground. But I guess NYC tunnels seem dark and depressing compared to Boston's good tunnel lighting. That's why our trains use headlights! Chuckle!

I see a lot of R32s on the R.

A-R-32, R-38, R-44
B-R-40/40M
C-R-32, R-38
D-R-68
E-R-32, some R-46
F-some R-32, R-46
G-R-46
J-R-42
L-R-143, some R-42
M-R-42, R-143 (weekend)
N-R-32, R-40/40M, R-68/68A
Q-R-68/68A
R-R-46
V-R-46
W-R40/40M
Z-R-42

shuttles:

Franklin S: R-68 singles
Rockaway S: R-44
42 St S: R-62A

1/9: R-62A
2: R-142
3: R-62, some R-62A
4: R-142, 142A, some R-62
5: R-142
6: R-142A
7: R-62A (look for some Redbirds at Corona Yard!)

I wonder why they use R-143s on the M shuttles while leaving some old R-42s on the L.

Guess that since the first R-160s are supposed to replace the R-38s, the R-40s and some R-42s and R-32s, and that the Q will be routed to the SAS, that you may see something like this in time:

A: R-160, R-44
B: R-40M
C: R-32
J/Z: R-160
M: R-42
N: R-68
Q: R-160
W: R-68, R-40M

JayMan wrote:I wonder why they use R-143s on the M shuttles while leaving some old R-42s on the L.

Guess that since the first R-160s are supposed to replace the R-38s, the R-40s and some R-42s and R-32s, and that the Q will be routed to the SAS, that you may see something like this in time:

A: R-160, R-44
B: R-40M
C: R-32
J/Z: R-160
M: R-42
N: R-68
Q: R-160
W: R-68, R-40M

1. There are no R-42's left on the L... the only cars used on the L are the 143's.

2. The R-44's will be replaced before anything else.

So, the Myrtle ave Shuttle (M) has 143s, because of the decreased runs on the L on weekends?

There are still about 2 R-42 trainsets on the L.

Since I work for NYCT I thought I'd give ya guys the current update:

N- R68 with occasional R40 slants (borrowed from the W line)

R- R46 and 2 or 3 sets of R32

D- R68 (no other units)

Q- R68 (no other units)

J- R40M/R42

L- R143 (and 2 or 3 sets of R42)

M- R143 and R40M/R42 (R143 in off-peak and weekends only)